Masters champ Patrick Reed ready to step on the gas again at PGA Championship

Masters champ Patrick Reed ready to step on the gas again at PGA Championship

ST. LOUIS – The road to the 100th PGA Championship has been a long one for Patrick Reed.

After winning the Masters in April for his first career major, Reed quickly realized the rest of the year was going to be harder. More obligations. More time demands. More people recognizing him at restaurants.

The 27-year-old hasn’t won since and said things ramped up mentally and physically as soon as he slipped into that green jacket at Augusta National. And there was only one question on his mind as he got ready for the year’s final major at Bellerive.

“Do you still have enough in the tank to play?” Reed said.

A streak of three straight top-5 finishes at the majors came to an end during the British Open at Carnoustie, where he finished T-28 on the heels of a solo fourth at the U.S. Open.

Now that he’s made it to St. Louis and the end of a long season is finally in sight, Reed said there’s no question he’s good to go.

“I feel like I’ve handled that very well,” Reed said Wednesday. “I feel like I’ve gotten myself where, mentally and physically, I’m ready to go on and play.”

It probably helps that this particular course fits Reed’s game so well. Like a bucking bull ready for action in the ring, Reed talked about Bellerive as if he simply can not wait to get out there and tee it up at 2:15 p.m. ET Thursday with fellow 2018 major winners Brooks Koepka and Francesco Molinari.

Reed favors a right to left ball flight, a shot he’ll be able to hit numerous times on Bellerive’s seemingly endless offering of right to left doglegs.

“Everything’s a draw,” Reed said. “This is a golf course that literally – you know, (caddie Kessler Karain) is just going to let the reins off and let me go and attack as much as possible, because I feel like it’s a home course. I mean, everything’s set up perfectly.”

As well as this course sets up for Reed technically, soft conditions and extremely receptive greens should play perfectly into his preferred mindset as well.

“You’re not going to be able to go through stretches where you make nine, eight pars in a row,” Reed said. “You’re going to lose to the field. You’re going to have to play aggressive and attack it. I love playing aggressive golf. I love to be able to go and attack holes. I’m not the type that likes to just hit iron off the tee, hit it to the middle of the green and try to lag a putt up there and make par.”

The season-long race is coming to a close, and it sure sounds like Reed has enough fuel in the tank to finish strong.